Dipolar Trends of Eddy Kinetic Energy in the Kuroshio Extension Observed Over the Past Three Decades

Fan, Mingshun, Zhai, Xiaoming, Liu, Xiaohui, Stevens, David P. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7283-4405, Liu, Tongya, Li, Junde, Zhang, Ridong and Chen, Dake (2026) Dipolar Trends of Eddy Kinetic Energy in the Kuroshio Extension Observed Over the Past Three Decades. Journal of Geophysical Research - Oceans. ISSN 2169-9275 (In Press)

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Abstract

Oceanic eddies play an important role in the transport, aggregation, and dispersion of heat, carbon, and nutrients, thereby regulating climate and marine ecosystems. In most western boundary current extensions (WBCEs), the integrated eddy kinetic energy (EKE) has increased significantly during the satellite era. However, the Kuroshio Extension exhibits pronounced spatial variations in its long-term EKE trend, without a significant overall increase. Here, we show that EKE in the Kuroshio Extension exhibits a dipole trend pattern, with enhancement in the north and weakening in the south. This dipole trend pattern is driven by the increased stability of the Kuroshio Extension. As the Kuroshio Extension shifts northward due to increased stability, EKE generation via baroclinic energy conversion also shifts northward, whereas eddy activity decreases to the south owing to reduced baroclinic energy conversion. Furthermore, the increasing stability of the Kuroshio Extension is driven by a negative trend in wind stress curl anomalies across the North Pacific at corresponding latitudes, as quantitatively supported by a linear vorticity model. These findings highlight the distinct dynamics of EKE trends in the Kuroshio Extension in contrast to other WBCEs and provide insights for predicting future EKE changes.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	das to be completed,2026 ,/dt/atira/pure/keyword/DAStatement/das_to_be_completed
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences University of East Anglia Research Groups/Centres > Theme - ClimateUEA Faculty of Science > School of Engineering, Mathematics and Physics
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Centre for Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Fluids & Structures
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	15 Oct 2026 13:14
Last Modified:	15 Oct 2026 13:14
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/104788
DOI:	issn:2169-9275

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